"He just keeps getting better in these big games"- Eoin Morgan hails Ben Stokes on valiant hundred despite England's loss

Former England cricketer Eoin Morgan hailed skipper Ben Stokes for his incredible knock of 155 against Australia in the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord's on Sunday. It was only because of Stokes that England seemed to have a chance of chasing the target of 371 on Day 5.

The hosts were in a precarious situation at 193/6 when Jonny Bairstow was stumped by Alex Carey. However, Stokes unleashed a completely different version of himself and began to hit sixes almost at will, bringing up another hundred. He added 108 runs with Stuart Broad for the seventh wicket before his valiant knock came to an end.

Speaking to Sky Sports Cricket after the game, here's what Eoin Morgan had to say about Ben Stokes' miraculous knock:

"He (Stokes) just keeps getting better in these big games. It's almost like the more he demands of himself, the better he gets. Great players recognize situations where they either need to take the game away from you or they need to take the sting out of the game. That's exactly what he did as he picked and chose when he wanted to do his thing and that's an unbelievable skill."

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Ricky Ponting on Ben Stokes' knock

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting was also present in the discussion and even he hailed Ben Stokes for single-handedly carrying England to the brink of what would have been an incredible win.

Ponting shed light on how difficult it is for any batter to change gears and bat with the tail and stated:

"Cometh the hour, cometh the man, Ben Stokes. He was almost forced to play that way when Bairstow was out and Broad was coming in. And he did it. Most players when they are forced to play in a way, they just hit one up in the air. But 155 runs and it was one of the best Ashes hundreds."

Stokes almost pulled off an incredible chase, similar to the one he had back in Headingley during Ashes 2019.